2:00 PM

I was just attacked by a bear at St. Louis Bread Company.

B., Clara Jane and I are finishing lunch downtown, where today is the big unveiling of the Main Street renovations. That’s right – I live in a town where downtown’s not only alive, but thriving. All the shops are open today. The bands are playing in the streets. All because a huge streetscape rebuilding has been completed. Since downtown Prettytown provides free Wi-Fi, and I’m concerned about running out of blog fodder, I’ve decided to live blog the festivities.

As for that bear … When we first arrived and took our table, on one side we had our town’s mayor. On the other, the mascot of the local minor league baseball team, the Gateway Grizzlies. So I knew a large fur-besuited person is wandering around. Not that this stopped me from screaming a few minutes ago when he peeked over my shoulder to watch my laptop booting.

I screamed rather loudly, considering that the restaurant’s packed and we’d just commented on how nice it is to live in a town where, even when a restaurant’s packed, it’s peaceful because everyone knows how to behave in public. Except me, but I’m new here.

3:00 PM

Remember last week, when I made fun of the lady at the frame shop not knowing about the semi-famous band whose founder is from Prettytown? I have to be nice to her. When I walked into the frame shop, before I could say a word, she remembered me. What we lack in cool we make up for in small-town friendly. And quite frankly, I’ve had enough cool in my life.

Speaking of the lack of cool, a lot of Prettytown’s older residents are having their first coffeehouse experiences today. Right now B., Clara Jane and I are sitting outside Mosaics enjoying two pumpkin spice cafe au laits and a Cookie Monster ice cream cone. While standing in line, I witnessed much loss of senior citizen innocence. “I’m drinking something called a ‘Lot’. I don’t know what the hell it is.”

And know a pack of old men in white tuxes and red vests and bow ties is parading past us. I have no idea why. Well, about half-dozen old men and two freakishly young ones.

I have no idea what’s going on.

4:00 pm

I’m sitting on the ground in front of the Classic Curl Beauty Shop. Clara Jane and a gang of other little girls are dancing to “Hey Ya” in the middle of Main Street.

All hell has broken loose. In a good way.

I’d love to post photos, but my camera battery’s almost dead. When your kid’s dancing in the middle of Main Street, one tends to conserve camera batteries for the police report.

How severe is Clara Jane’s street dancing? So much that she detracted from the last dance company performance. To the girls at Elite Dance Academy who practiced so hard to be upstaged by a 3-year-old who hasn’t been taught shame, I apologize.

I spent part of the dance time hiding within Circa. I figure that, if I’m spending money downtown, they might turn a blind eye to my child. Dancing in the middle of Main Street. Who’s doing the Electric Slide right now, in the opposite direction of the rest of the dancers.

I’m sorry. Well, not really.

5:30 PM

We’re home, but not before closing down downtown. Nachos were eaten. Caramel apples purchased. Coffee and spices sniffed (and purchased). My child is quite possibly more exhausted than she’s ever been in her entire life, what with the street dancing. A cop tried to teach her how to do the choreography from “Greased Lightening”. Unfortunately, Clara Jane was having none of that. Running in circles in the middle of Main Street is much more fun that pointing.

Need I say again how much I love living here, and how this move might possibly be the smartest thing B. and I have done in our nine years together?  Are you sick of reading that? I promise, once we reach our six-month anniversary, I’ll stop sounding like the head of the local Chamber of Commerce. But until December 14th, you’re going to have to cope with the gushing.